The Girl
by CityofDivergentTributeDemi-God
Summary: Everyone wants Jace to focus on his future in football, but what if he's already found his future in a girl? One-Shot. AU.


Jace smiled as he looked at Clary with her fiery hair flying back as the wind whipped through it. She glanced over at him with those green eyes of hers and winked.

They slowed as they approached the school, and Jace stopped the ignition and sat for a moment enjoying the comfortable silence. Clary leaned over the console and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Jace, you need to get to football practice, or you'll be late." Clary said, with a tinge of worry that she might get him in trouble.

He leaned over and kissed her on the lips saying, "I don't want to leave yet." Clary smiled and kissed him back gently, but pulled back knowing he needed to go whether he wanted to or not.

"Jace, you're the captain and the star of the team, they need you. I'll be here after you're done. You made a commitment to your team. Follow through." She said, and Jace kissed her one more time before reluctantly hopping out of the car and running to the stadium.

He reached the field, and ran right into Coach Hodge, who's face turned from worry to relief when he saw Jace.

"Herondale, where have you been? We had begun to think you were sick two weeks before the big game." Hodge said, gazing at Jace, checking for an injury that his star player could have attained.

"Um...no, I'm fine I was just with a...friend." Jace said, wishing that he was still with this 'friend'.

Hodge's gaze turned confused. "Who is this friend you were with?" He asked, wondering who could have possibly kept Jace Herondale late for practice. Jace Herondale lived to play football.

"Clarissa Morgenstern, sir. We went for a drive." Jace's voice softened when her name passed his lips.

Coach Hodge glared and said, "Don't be late to practice again, you don't need to lose practice over another one of your silly girlfriends."

Before Jace could protest, Coach Hodge had walked off. Jace glared at his retreating figure. "She's not just another girl, and I don't need anymore practice. I play perfectly already." Jace muttered, angrily.

* * *

"Jace? What's going on, man? You've skipped practice three times." Julian stated, with an edge to his voice.

"I've been busy." Jace said, off-handedly. He looked at his phone and sent Clary a quick text, asking if she made it home alright.

"Doing what?" Julian asked, upset that the team's captain kept bailing on them.

"I've been hanging out with Clary, and I keep losing track of time." Jace lied, he knew that he should be at practice, and Clary tried to make him go but he wanted more time with her.

"You've been skipping out on us, because of some girl? Jace you date girls all the time, but you never miss practice, what's going on?" Julian asked. The championship was next week, and Jace needed to be focused.

Jace waved his hand dismissively and checked his phone again to see if Clary had texted back.

* * *

"How's school, Jace?" His father asked. Jace looked up at his dad, and nodded. "It's been going good. Still have straight A's, still looking at colleges."

"What about football?" He asked, smiling. Stephen Herondale, like his son, had played football in high-school. His son though was ten times the player he was, and he knew that Jace would most likely get a full ride to whatever school he wanted once the scouts saw him play.

"Oh, football...I haven't really been going to practice much lately." Jace said, casually think of all the things and place he and Clary had done and gone when he was suppose to be going to practice.

Stephen froze when he heard his son's reply, even Celine who had not been participating in the conversation looked shocked at her son's reply.

"You've been skipping practice?" Celine asked, looking at her son as a scientist looked at a frog he or she was going to dissect.

"Yeah, Clary and I-" Jace started, but was cut off by his father.

"You've been skipping practice for some girl?" He asked, his voice cutting, like a knife.

"She's not just some girl-" Jace tried, but was cut off again.

"Jace you can't skip practice. You can't throw away your future on some girl you barely know." His father said, but Jace wasn't listening.

He was sick and tired of everyone saying that Clary was just some girl. She wasn't, at all. Jace loved Clary in a way that he had never loved anyone else. No, Clary wasn't some girl, she was _the_ girl.

* * *

"Jace, the scouts are coming to the championship this week. I need, the team needs, for you to focus. You need to let this girl go, and you need to focus on your future and the team's future. You will have time for girls when you get to play for the NFL." Coach Hodge said, as he stopped Jace after practice.

"Yes, Coach. I'll concentrate on football." Jace said, knowing that that was what everyone wanted to here.

His father, his Coach, his team mates, Alec, his teachers, and the principal had told him he needed to break things off with Clary. They were all knew that if Jace wasn't focused on the championship then there was no way they could stand a chance.

"This is your last warning. If you miss one more practice, then you're off the team." Hodge said, and Jace nodded.

Coach let him go, and Jace started to walk to the parking lot. When he got there he smiled, Clary was there leaning against his car waiting for him.

* * *

Jace sighed frustrated at Coach Hodge. It was the day before the championship game and Coach had decided that they needed an extra day of practice, when they were suppose to be resting for the big game.

Jace looked at his watch. It was five and he had told Clary that he would be at her house at six. He was going to have dinner with her family, so he could meet her parents. He had already met Jonathan and they had become friends, after Jon made sure that his sister wouldn't get her heart broken.

But he couldn't go to her house to meet her parents drenched in sweat, and he couldn't reschedule. Clary said that her mother had been planning the meal for days, and that her father had been continuously asking about him.

Jace looked around at his team. He didn't want to disappoint them, but there were things in his life now that were more important than football. He knew his grades were good enough to get into college with an academic scholarship, so he really didn't need a football scholarship.

He took his helmet off knowing that if he left now his chance at the NFL would be gone, but he knew if he didn't leave now he might disappoint Clary and her family.

He jogged over to his coach, and handed him his helmet. "Coach, I'm leaving." He said, simply.

"Why?" Hodge asked, but he already knew the answer. "I have someone to meet, and I can't disappoint them." Jace said, and turned to walk out.

"You're throwing away your career, your future, if you walk off of this field. You won't get another chance." His coach said, but Jace knew that his future wasn't football. His future was a beautiful girl with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes, who's smile could brighten his most horrible of day. That was his future.

His friends, his team watched as he walked off that field with his eyes brighter than they had ever been when he had played football. They knew that now they couldn't rely on Jace to play the game and win. They had to do it, because Jace had found something-someone he loved more than football.

* * *

Jace looked at his watch. 5:59. He knocked on the door, and a moment later Clary opened the door wearing a beautiful black lace dress that went down to her knees. Jace smiled and glanced down at his white button, jeans, and tie hoping he had dressed appropriately.

Clary sensing his thoughts looked at him saying, "You look great." Jace smirked, feeling confident again and told her that she looked beautiful in reply.

Clary smiled and grabbed Jace's hand pulling him inside. They walked into the dining room where he saw Jocelyn and Valentine Morgenstern waiting for them with Jonathan standing off to the side putting food onto the table.

Jace smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Morgenstern. My name is Jace Herondale, and I am in love with your daughter.

* * *

 _Before you knew it he was dropping passes, Skipping practice just to spend more time with her. The coach said "Hey son, what's your problem? Tell me, have you lost your mind?" Daddy said, "You'll lose your free ride to college. Boy you better tell her goodbye"._

This one-shot was inspired by the line above. The lyrics are from Carrie Underwood's song All-American Girl.


End file.
